Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Commitment Profile: Shane Morris (2013)

Name: Shane Morris

Location: Warren, MI

Position: QB

Ratings: ESPN – NR* (40), Scout – NR*, 247 Sports - NR*

Notes: Projected as a high four star with a chance of a 5th if everything goes well?

Recruitment: Shane Morris appears to be one of the elite quarterbacks in the 2013 class, so it was important for Michigan to get in on him early. That was certainly the case as Brady Hoke gave Shane the first extended UM scholarship of the 2013 class. Shane grew up in a Wolverine household, and was clearly thrilled when he got the offer, but a commitment in May 2011 was somewhat unexpected.

Stats: Currently weighs around 187lbs at 6’3. As a sophomore he passed for 1139 yards, 14 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

ESPN Analysis: None available.

Scout.com Analysis: None available.

Since the recruiting services don’t have evaluations on 2013 prospects yet, here’s a long quote from his high school coach:

"We knew right then he was going to be something special," said DeLaSalle coach Paul Verska. "You could just tell. He threw the ball well and he handled himself beyond his years. He just had that leadership quality — that special thing you hope for in a quarterback. We knew all year long when he was on the freshman team that if we had some injuries, he would be able to come up and help us out. Shane came up as a freshman and played in three playoff games and led us to the semifinals. We lost in the semifinals in a tough game against Inkster (vs Devin Gardner), but he did a great job of leading us. Then in his sophomore year he threw for over 1,400 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five picks. Of the five picks, three of them went right through receivers' hands, so really only two of them were his fault. He makes great decisions with the football, he has a very strong arm, and he is learning and getting better every day. As long as he continues to do that I think great things will keep happening for him."

Final Thoughts: Watching his sophomore highlights, I couldn’t help but smile; there is a lot to like about this guy. I’m not much of a scout, but he looks to have a great arm and solid accuracy, even when on the run. Speaking of on the run, I was pleasantly surprising by his mobility and ability to scramble, I didn’t know he was that fast. The best part is that this is only his sophomore year; he’s got two more years to refine his skills and get ready for college.

When he gets to Michigan, he’ll have three quarterbacks already ahead of him, in a senior (or RS Jnr) Devin Gardner, plus Russell Bellomy and probably a 2012 QB recruit too. This means no matter how good Morris is, he’s probably redshirting so he can learn the offense and adjust to the speed of the college game. After Gardner leaves he’ll compete for the starting role, and even if he loses out to Bellomy (an underrated QB btw), there’s a chance he could leapfrog the 2012 recruit on the depth chart to become the backup.

Morris’ commitment will also have an impact on both the 2012 and 2013 Michigan recruiting classes. With an elite QB now in the fold for 2013, Brady Hoke doesn’t have to land a top notch QB in 2012, he can afford to take a chance on a sleeper prospect. Or he could decide to save a scholarship if he doesn’t find the right fit.

As for 2013, an early commitment from a prospect as well regarded as Morris can only have a positive impact on the class. Morris will attract some big time 2013 recruits to take a look at UM, especially wide receivers. If Shane gets active in the recruiting game, he could help lure a major class to Michigan; after all, he’s got over a year and a half to recruit these guys!

I've said it before, but now it's even more fun to say it again. This kid is the best qb prospect this year. He's better than zeke pike, better than maty mauk, better than gunner keil, and he's a 2013 prospect. It's almost like the NFL draft where there was a race to sign all these question mark quarterbacks this year when the 2 best qb's to be had are in next years class.

The thing I liked about Morris's film was the way he scanned the field and went through his progressions that shows that he will let things develope and dont rush it. I like his speed wasnt expecting it. Looked very accurate but its a highlight film. What was his completion percentage?

i honestly i think this brings in burbridge and ron thompson. burbridge because they our friends n thompson because if you watch his 7 on 7 highlight thompson was one of his favorite targets to threw to.

@guyward Exactly! Every other "top" prospect stares down his single target for a full five count and hits him while wide open by 10 yards. Good defenses love a qb who give away the playbook like that. Morris is a closed book, he checks all his targets (even if it's for show) and is already throwing absolute dimes into tight coverage. No inflated stats from him either.

Who are these schools that are starting to show interest in Thompson, because his offer list on scout sucks. At this point he only really has us as a legit option unless he thinks he can get exposure at vandy

Benji,I was just reading on espn. And this is something that Tom Luginbill was saying about Royce jenkins stone, Bolden and Ross.We're going to be putting together the [ESPNU] 150 in the first week of June. Right now, the way we've got their guys rated, they've got three to four guys who are going to be in that ESPNU 150 grade range. So it's a strong group." This is very good news

All the news agencies reporting Shane Morris committing are saying exactly this: "Shane Morris, a 2013 qb, committed to Michigan." The pictures of him are bigger than the articles. That said, well done Benji on a thorough, informative, and interesting article. You own the Freep and the News.

Ok we are getting some pretty good talent on this board to go along with The Wizard(Benji,he is British like Harry Potter) I think we need to have a live chat sometime. I think it would be fun to do every so often or atleast on singing day! Yay? Nay??

Ok I've been pretty busy today with revision etc, so didn't have any time for the blog. Anyway, let's answer some questions!

@Richard: As you probably know by now, Thompson didn't announce today. I think he might have academic issues, to do with him transferring high schools, and that's what is causing the delay in his commitment. Hopefully it'll get cleared up soon.

@Jer89 Not sure yet on any of Morris' teammates, it might be too early to tell on some of them.

@Matthew: That list is pretty optimistic from a Michigan point of view. We'd definitely have a top10 class by those rankings. And whilst Banner is very athletic (great BB player), no way can he run a 4.6 forty!

@Worm: I so wish I was Harry Potter...

And if I can figure out how to stage a live chat on the blog, I'll try and set up like a weekly thing, or monthly depending on the interest. In the mean time, you guys can always tweet me questions @MGoRecruit or through the comments section here.